Structural beam drilling machine

ABSTRACT

A machine for forming the holes in flanges of a structural beam comprising a drilling machine having relatively movable drilling brackets. Each drilling bracket has a drill mounted therein movable perpendicularly to the relative movement direction of the brackets. Each drill bracket further comprises beam web supporting means and means for locating the drill in a drilling position. The support means control the said locating means in dependence upon the thickness of the beam web.

United States Patent George William P. Evans North Surrey, British Columbia, Canada 834,304

June 18, 1969 June 15, 1971 Dominion Bridge Company Limited Montreal, Quebec, Canada [72] Inventor [21] Appl. No. [22] Filed {45] Patented [73] Assignee [32] Priority May 23, 1969 [33] Canada [31 052,427

[54] STRUCTURAL BEAM DRILLING MACHINE 10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 408/37 [5 1] Int. Cl B23b 39/22 [50] Field of Search 77/2l,22, 24

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,l20,l35 2/l964 Henderson 1,829,971 ll/l93l Trevellyan et all Primary Examiner-Francis S. Husar Attorney-Fetherstonhaugh & C0.

ABSTRACT: A machine for forming the holes in flanges of a structural beam comprising a drilling machine having relatively movable drilling brackets. Each drilling bracket has a drill mounted therein movable perpendicularly to the relative movement direction of the brackets. Each drill bracket further comprises beam web supporting means and means for locating the drill in a drilling position. The support means control the said locating means in dependence upon the thickness of the beam web.

PATENTEU JUN] 519m SHEET 1 UF 5 w mlll MW "n INVENTORS George W. P. EVANS im y 5,.

PATENT AGENTS PATENIEuJumslsn' 3.584.523

SHEET 2 [1F 5 FIG 2 I24 0 Mo 0 O O nca. 3 INVEN'IOR George W. P. EVANS PATENT AGENTS PATENTED JUN] 5 |97| SHEET L! []F 5 FIG 5 (j/l Ill/Ill lNVE-NTOR George W. P. EVANS WW vw PATENT AGENTS PATENTEI] JUN 1 5 ml SHEET 5 OF 5 m b! i P INVENTOR George W. P. EVANS PATENT AGENTS STRUCTURAL BEAM DRILLING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for drilling holes in the flanges of structural beams, particularly beams having an I- shaped or channel-shaped configuration.

Hitherto it has been preferred to punch holes in the beam flanges with the same machine as used to punch holes in the beam web. The punching process was found to be quicker than a drilling process. However, the ability to punch holes in flanges is limited by the flange thickness and the flange spacing. Furthermore, it was necessary to make several passes of the beam through the punch rotating the beam through 90 or 180 before each pass.

Furthermore, the prior art has not provided an adequate system for readily and remotely changing flange gauge lines of the punching machine. A flange gauge line is that line which extends parallel to the centerline of the web and on which holes are to be formed. Furthermore, the prior art has not provided a system which can readily and automatically accommodate changes in web thickness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide improved apparatus for forming holes in the flanges of structural beams.

A further object of this invention is to provide apparatus for drilling holes in beam flanges which can be used in association with a web hole punching device, and a further object is to enable the machines to be used in proximity so that both web and flange holes can be formed during a single pass through the associated machines.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a flange-drilling machine which automatically compensates for varying thickness of beam web.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a drilling machine which is readily and remotely adjustable to vary the gauge line spacing of holes drilled in the beam flanges.

According to the present invention, a machine of the type described comprises first support means for one surface of the web and second support means for the other surface of the web. The two support means are relatively movable. Flange hole drilling means are provided which are relatively movable towards and away from said support means and transversely thereto. The machine of the invention also comprises stop means for determining transverse movement of the drilling means for varying the position of the stop means in relation to the relative transverse movement of the first and second support means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: 1

FIG. 1 is an elevation looking in the longitudinal direction of movement ofa beam through a drilling machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation seen at right angles to the elevation of FIG. 1 showing the drilling machine in association with a web punch machine and a gripper device;

FIG. 3 is a section on line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section on line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section on line V-V of FIG. I; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are enlarged views of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, the drilling machine 2 forming a preferred embodiment of the invention has a base member 4, a fixed drilling bracket 6 and an adjustable drilling bracket 8 mounted on the base member 4. Identical drilling spindle units 10 are vertically movable in each of the drilling brackets 6 and 8. Gauge line stop means 12 of identical construction are also mounted on the drill brackets 6 and 18. Beam support means 14 are mounted on the brackets 6 and 8. The beam which in this case is of l-shaped configuration is shown in chain-dotted outline at I6.

The base member 4 comprises a bottom member 18 (FIG. 2), side members 20, and a top member 22 welded together and extending as a box-shaped unit the full transverse width of the machine. The fixed bracket 6 is secured in a fixed position to the base member 4 at the right-hand end of the base member as seen in FIG. I. The adjustable bracket 8 is transversely movably mounted on the left-hand end of the base member 4 as seen in FIG. 1. The top member 22 of the base member 4 has two rails 24 secured thereto in parallel spaced relation and extending transversely of the machine. The rails 24 are secured to the top member 22 by means of bolts 26. A lead screw 28 is rotatably mounted in bearings 30 mounted on the top member 22 and is rotatably by a reversible hydraulic motor 32 connected to one end of the lead screw 28 and mounted by bracket 34 on to the base member 4. The top member 22 is also formed with a hole 36 and a slot 38 for a purpose to be described.

The fixed bracket 6 comprises a vertical upright plate member 40 and longitudinally spaced sideplates 42 welded thereto. Spaced inwardly of the upright member 40 is a support plate 44 for receiving part of the support means 14. The support plate 44 is spaced from the upright member 40 by an angled plate 46, which as well as acting as bracing for the member 44 with respect to the member 40 also serves as a scrap chute for drill turnings. Formed in the upright member 40 is a vertical slot 48 for the passage therethrough of drill means. Secured to the plates 42 adjacent their connection to the upright member 40 are a pair of vertical columns 50 for receiving the drill spindle unit 10. The columns 50 are spaced longitudinally ofthe machine.

Secured to the base member 4 is a double-acting cylinder 52 which extends through hole 36 in member 22 and which has swivelly connected to its piston rod 54 a bearing plate 56. The drilling spindle unit 10 is bolted to the plate 56.

The adjustable bracket 8 is of similar construction to the fixed bracket 6 and thus comprises a vertical upright member 40, two sideplates 42, support plate 44, an angled plate 46, a slot 48, and a pair of vertical columns 50. However, the above elements are mounted on a bottom plate 58.

The bottom plate has secured to the undersurface thereof four blocks 60 adjacent the corners ofthe plate 58. The blocks 60 have formed therein bushes which :receive the guide rails 24 and allow movement of the adjustable bracket 8 along the rails 24. The bottom plate also has secured to the undersurface thereof a nut 62 which receives the lead screw 28. It will be seen that rotation of the lead screw 28 causes sliding of the adjustable bracket 8 along the rails 24. Also secured to the bottom plate 58 and passing therethrough is double-acting hydraulic cylinder 52 the bottom part of which can move along the slot 38 in member 22. The piston rod 54 of the cylinder 52 in the adjustable bracket has a bearing plate 56 on which the drill spindle unit 10 is mounted.

The drill spindle units 10 will now be described. Reference is made to FIGS. land 4.

Each drill spindle unit 10 comprises a sliding plate 64 formed with bores receiving bushings 66 surrounding columns 50 so that plate 64 can slide vertically on columns 50. Extending outwardly from the plate 64 is a housing 68 which is drilled to receive bolts passing thgough the bearing plate 56 of the double-acting ram 52. Thus, the ram 52 constitutes means for vertically moving a drill spindle unit 10.

Rotatably mounted in the housing 68 is a sleeve 70 which has secured to one end thereofa gear belt pulley 72. Mounted on the housing 68 is a hydraulic motor 74 having a drive pulley 76 connected by a belt, not shown, to the gear belt pulley 72 so that rotation of the motor 74 rotates the sleeve 70 within the housing 68.

Slidably mounted in the sleeve 70 is a drill spindle 78. The drill spindle 78 has a pair of diametrically opposed slots 80 cooperating with keys 82 secured to the sleeve 70 so that the spindle 78 rotates with the sleeve 70 but is slidable with respect thereto. The drill spindle 78 has a central bore 84 for the passage of drilling fluid. A rotating connector 86 is secured to the drill spindle at the end 88 thereof remote from the plate 64. The end 88 of the spindle is rotatably mounted in an end plate 90. The end plate 90 is connected to the piston rods 92 of hydraulic cylinders 94 secured to the housing 68 by bolts 96. The elements 90, 92 and 94 constitute means for moving the drill spindle towards and away from a beam flange relative to the plate 64.

Rigidly secured in the face of the plate 64 remote from the housing 68 is an insert, which has an inward projection 100 having a threaded bore 102.

Slidably mounted in a bearing block 104 secured to the upper end of the upright member 40 is a vertical rod 106. The vertical rod 106 has a threaded lower end 108 which is received in the bore 102 of the projection 100 and is secured therein by a locknut 110. The upper end of the rod 106 is surrounded by a sleeve 112, and a nut 114 and the sleeve 112 clamp a stop member 116 against a shoulder on the lower part of the rod 106. It will be seen that the stop member 116 thus moves with the drill spindle unit on operation of the ram 52.

Reference is now made to the stop means 12 shown in H0. 1 and 3. Four mounting blocks 118 are secured to the upright member 40. Received in holes in these blocks 118 are a pair of longitudinally spaced vertical shafts 120. The shafts 120 are secured between a top plate 122 and a bottom plate 124. The opposed surfaces of the plate 122 and 124 are spaced at a greater distance than the remote surfaces of the top and bottom pairs of blocks 118 so that the shafts 120 are slidable to a limited extent in the blocks 118. A double-acting hydraulic cylinder 126 is also secured to the upright member 40 below the blocks 118. The piston rod 128 of the cylinder 126 is secured to the bottom plate 124.

Located between and rotatably mounted in the plates 122 and 124 is a spool 130. The spool 130 comprises a pair of flanges 132 and 134 connected by a central column 136. Each of the flanges 132 and 134 has a series of holes 138 drilled therethrough. The holes in each flange are in alignment. Located in each hole is a gauge stop, only four gauge stops 140 are shown in position in FIG. 1 of the drawings. Each gauge stop 140 comprises a stud having a threaded portion received in a hole 138 and a square head having a hardened stop surface. The gauge stops are of a length to suit required flange hole gauge lines and are secured in position by locknuts 142. The spool is so dimensioned that rotation thereof can place an opposed aligned pair of stops 140 in line with stop surfaces on each side of the stop member 116 on the rod 106.

The support means 14 will now be described. Each support means 14 comprises an upper roll support assembly 144 and a lower roll support assembly 146. The lower roll assembly 146 comprises a pair of spaced plates 148 and 150 secured in spaced-apart relation to the support plate 44. The two plates 148 and 150 are provided with a vertical slot 147 having a rounded end for the passage of a drill. Two roll discs 152 having axles 154 are carried by the plates 148 and 150 one on each side of the vertical slot 147.

An upper roll support assembly 144 is pivotably mounted on the side plates 42 of each of drill brackets 6 and 8. The 2% upper roll discs 172 having-axles 174. The axles 174 and 154 are in vertical alignment so that the roll discs 152 and 172 have a common horizontal contact plane.

The sideplates 158 of the bracket 156 have further holes 174 formed therein. The holes 174 receive bearing pins 176 and first ends 178 of connecting links 180 are received on the bearing pins 176. The other ends 182 of the connecting links 180 are received on bearing pins 184 secured in the bottom plate 122 of the gauge stop means 12. Thus, it will beseen that movement of the roll discs 172 relative to the roll discs 152 causes pivotal movement of the brackets 156 about the pivot pins 164 and vertical displacement of the connecting links 180 and the gauge stop units 12. In the position of the apparatus in which the roll discs 152 and 172 are in contact, the contact point of the roll discs, the pivotable axis of the pins 176 and the pivotable axis of the pins 164 lie in a common horizontal plane and the pivotable axis of the pins 176 is located midway between the pivotal axis of the pins 164 and the center of the contact points of the roll discs.

The operation of the apparatus described above will not be explained.

Initially, the hydraulic rams 126 are actuated to move the brackets 156 upwardly about the pins 164 and to space the roll discs 152 and 172 at their maximum spacing. The adjustable bracket 8 is then moved by means of the motor 32 and lead screw 28 and nut 62 on guide rails 24 to the required position relative to the fixed bracket 6 dependent upon the size of the beam, that is the flange spacing of the beam to be operated upon. The beam 16 is then introduced into the gap between the roll discs 152 and 172 and the hydraulic cylinder 126 operated to clamp the roll discs together so that the roll discs 152 are in contact with the lower surface of the web of the flange and the roll discs 172 are in contact with the upper surface of the flange. Then the spool is rotated to place the required gauge line stops in alignment with the stop member 116.

During the clamping operation, the apparatus automatically compensates for the thickness of the beam web since by virtue of the connection through between the upper roll supports 144 and the bottom plates 122 of the gauge stop units 12, the gauge stop unit is moved upwardly a distance from its base position, in which the thickness is zero, half the thickness of the web.

With the gauge stops 140 now correctly positioned, the ram 52 in one drill bracket is actuated to urge the drill spindle unit 10 and the rod 106 secured thereto upwardly until the stop member 116 abuts the chosen gauge stop 104. The drill secured in the drill spindle 78 is not a predetermined distance vertically above the centerline of the web irrespective of the actual thickness of the web. The drill drive motor 74 is now actuated to rotate the drill spindle and the cylinders 94 are actuated to feed the drill towards the flanges and to drill the required hole in the flange. After drilling of the hole, the drill is returned to its base position and the drill in the other bracket which has been similarly located by means of stop 140 is actuated to drill a hole in the other flange. Hydraulic rams 52 are now actuated in the opposite direction to bring the stop member in abutment with the lower one of the gauge stops 140 and the required holes are drilled in the bottom flange.

The above operation is repeated for each hole required. In the embodiment illustrated, the spool 130 is provided with 12 au e SIODS RV nrnvir'lino l7 hnlnc an! nnrmnh-ninn I! possible to pass a gripper arm of short length between the support means 14 to grasp a beam which has been brought to the punch machine 186 located before the drilling machine in the direction of movement of the beam.

What I claim as my invention is;

1. A machine for drilling holes in the flanges ofa beam having a longitudinally extending web and transverse flanges, said machine comprising first support means for one surface of the web, second support means for the other surface of the web spaced transversely and movable relative to the first support means, flange hole drilling means relatively movable towards and away from said support means and transversely thereto, stop means for determining transverse movement of the drilling means, and means for varying the position of said stop means in relation to relative movement of the first and second support means.

2. A machine according to claim 1 further comprising a frame and wherein said first support means is fixed relative to the frame and said stop means is movably mounted on the frame, connecting link means being connected between said second support means and said stop means.

3. A machine according to claim 2 wherein said second support means is pivotably mounted on the frame and the connecting link means is pivotably connected to the support means at a point midway between the mounting point of the support means on the frame and a web support surface of the support means.

4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said varying means is operable to move said stop means by half of the relative movement ofthe support means.

5. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said stop means comprises at least one pair of first stop surfaces and said drilling means includes a stop member rigid therewith, said stop member having two second stop surfaces thereon for contact with respective ones of said second stop surfaces, said first and second stop surfaces being in alignment.

6. A machine according to claim 5 wherein said stop means comprises a spool having a plurality of pairs of first stop surfaces, each of said pairs of first surfaces having a different spacing and said spool being movable to place different ones ofsaid pairs in alignment with said stop member.

7. A machine according to claim 1 further comprising a frame, said first support means being fixed relative to said frame and said second support means being pivotably mounted on said frame for vertical movement towards and away from the first support means, said stop means including a spool mounted on said frame for movement in a vertical direction and for rotary movement about a vertical axis, said spool having a plurality of pairs of first stop surfaces equidistant from said vertical axis, said varying means including connecting link means operatively connecting said second support means to said spool to move the spool on movement of the first support means half the distance moved by said first support means, said drilling means being vertically movably mounted on said frame and including a stop member rigid therewith, said stop member having a pair of second stop surfaces, said pairs of first stop surfaces being alignable with said second stop surfaces on rotation of said spool.

8. A beam flange drilling machine comprising a base extending in a transverse direction, two drilling frames mounted on said base for relative transverse movement, said frames defining therebetween a passage for travel of a beam in a longitudinal direction, each of said drilling frames comprising mounting first and second support means adapted to receive therebetween the web ofa beam, said first and second support means being relatively movable in a third direction perpendicular to said transverse and longitudinal directions, a drilling unit for movement in said third direction, the drilling unit having a drill spindle movable in the transverse direction, stop means for determining the movement of said drilling units in said third direction, and means for varying the position of said stop means in relation to the relative movement of said support means.

9. A machine according to claim 8 wherein each of said first support means is fixed to its associated drilling frames and each of said second support means is pivotably mounted on its associated drilling frame, and there is provided link means connecting the second support means to the stop means, whereby movement of the second support means is trans mitted to the stop means.

10. A machine according to claim 9 wherein said link means transmits half of the movement of said second support means in said third direction. 

1. A machine for drilling holes in the flanges of a beam having a longitudinally extending web and transverse flanges, said machine comprising first support means for one surface of the web, second support means for the other surface of the web spaced transversely and movable relative to the first support means, flange hole drilling means relatively movable towards and away from said support means and transversely thereto, stop means for determining transverse movement of the drilling means, and means for varying the position of said stop means in relation to relative movement of the first and second support means.
 2. A machine according to claim 1 further comprising a frame and wherein said first support means is fixed relative to the frame and said stop means is movably mounted on the frame, connecting link means being connected between said second support means and said stop means.
 3. A machine according to claim 2 wherein said second support means is pivotably mounted on the frame and the connecting link means is pivotably connected to the support means at a point midway between the mounting point of the support means on the frame and a web support surface of the support means.
 4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said varying means is operable to move said stop means by half of the relative movement of the support means.
 5. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said stop means comprises at least one pair of first stop surfaces and said drilling means includes a stop member rigid therewith, said stop member having two second stop surfaces thereon for contact with respective ones of said second stop surfaces, said first and second stop surfaces being in alignment.
 6. A machine according to claim 5 wherein said stop means comprises a spool having a plurality of pairs of first stop surfaces, each of said pairs of first surfaces having a different spacing and said spool being movable to place different ones of said pairs in alignment with said stop member.
 7. A machine according to claim 1 further comprising a frame, said first support means being fixed relative to said frame and said second support means being pivotably mounted on said frame for vertical movement towards and away from the first support means, said stop means including a spool mounted on said frame for movement in a vertical direction and for rotary movement about a vertical axis, said spool having a pLurality of pairs of first stop surfaces equidistant from said vertical axis, said varying means including connecting link means operatively connecting said second support means to said spool to move the spool on movement of the first support means half the distance moved by said first support means, said drilling means being vertically movably mounted on said frame and including a stop member rigid therewith, said stop member having a pair of second stop surfaces, said pairs of first stop surfaces being alignable with said second stop surfaces on rotation of said spool.
 8. A beam flange drilling machine comprising a base extending in a transverse direction, two drilling frames mounted on said base for relative transverse movement, said frames defining therebetween a passage for travel of a beam in a longitudinal direction, each of said drilling frames comprising mounting first and second support means adapted to receive therebetween the web of a beam, said first and second support means being relatively movable in a third direction perpendicular to said transverse and longitudinal directions, a drilling unit for movement in said third direction, the drilling unit having a drill spindle movable in the transverse direction, stop means for determining the movement of said drilling units in said third direction, and means for varying the position of said stop means in relation to the relative movement of said support means.
 9. A machine according to claim 8 wherein each of said first support means is fixed to its associated drilling frames and each of said second support means is pivotably mounted on its associated drilling frame, and there is provided link means connecting the second support means to the stop means, whereby movement of the second support means is transmitted to the stop means.
 10. A machine according to claim 9 wherein said link means transmits half of the movement of said second support means in said third direction. 